Aquariums have long been considered educational and entertaining and during recent years have become increasingly popular for the hobbyist. As with any trend, the increasing popularity brings new and useful improvements in equipment for practicing the hobby. With aquariums most of the new equipment has, of course, been related to the containers, pumps, filters, etc. and only a few innovative, decorative accessories have appeared on the market.
One of the more interesting approaches has been the development of closed receptacles for creating secondary environments submerged within the aquarium. Two such receptacles are described in U. S. Pat. Nos. 3,283,743 and 4,204,499. U.S. Pat. No. 3,283,743 discloses an environmental control chamber used for studying the behavior of ants, and the chamber is completely submerged in liquid. U.S. Pat. No. 4,204,499 is a newt sanctuary comprised of a submerged air bubble structure wherein aquarium bottom material extends up into the bubble, above the air-water interface, for supporting the newt.
A terrarium/aquarium is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,351,270 wherein a pyramidal-shaped terrarium is surrounded by a plurality of water-containing chambers for housing fish and aquatic plants. The two environments, however, are distinct.
The present invention is directed to an environmentally controlled habitat for containing and nurturing plants, insects, or small animals submerged within an aquarium. Unlike any of the known prior art, the present invention is a habitat environment which not only is submerged in an aquarium but also interacts with the aquatic environment to nurture the life contained within the habitat. In a preferred embodiment the present habitat is generally comprised of a transparent container having a removable top portion, an air conduit means for introducing atmospheric air into the submerged habitat, and a means for selectively introducing water from the aquarium into the habitat to water plants or increase humidity in the environment. Light is provided to the habitat by the lighting associated with the aquarium. The habitat is held submerged by a variety of types of hooks and/or suction cups as will be described hereinbelow.
The habitat has proved to be compatible with growth of a variety of species of non-aquatic plants, and some, including African violets, have produced blooms. The present invention is conducive to creation of an ecological system wherein a variety of interrelated environments can be established and studied by the hobbyist, and on a larger scale by the scientific community. The objectives of providing a controlled environment habitat submerged within an aquarium has been achieved; as has the provision of a submerged habitat which interacts with the surrounding aquatic environment. Other and further objectives and advantages will become apparent as the following detailed description is studied in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.